LAT 28 10.6N
LONG 075 15.1W
DTF 715nm
ETA 1300z 27 May 2012
SOG 6.5
COG 330

WEATHER Wind 330@8kts, Sea Slt, Swell NE 0.5m, ESE 1m, Sky 5/8 Cl, Baro 1014

As Gold Coast Australia sailed through the Bermuda Triangle things started going haywire, and we seem to “disappear” from the Race Viewer in strange circumstances. Gold Coast Australia has entered stealth mode and dissapeared off the face of the earth in a bid to bemuse the other yachts in the fleet about our whereabouts and our tactics.

Thankfully Gold Coast Australia not only came out of stelth mode and the Bermuda Triangle safely, but we also mangaged to claw back some milage between us, Visit Finland and Edinburgh Inspring Capital and at the same time extended our distance on the rest of the fleet.

Gold Coast Australia had their best days run for what seems like a long time yesterday while in stelth mode with fair winds and sunny sky we sailed on a course and speed past the Bahama Islands and towards the American Basin. The crew are working hard to catch the boats ahead of us and with the fresher wind there are less sail changes.

Just when we thought the weather had settled, this morning suddenly it dropped off again, and we were back to the old routine of sail change after sail change trying to keep the boat moving in the right direction. With sunset the wind seems to have “settled” a little, but we still only have a painfull 8-10kts of wind to push us along, leaving the sails flogging in the occasional heavy Atlantic swell.

Gold Coast Australia has disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle. Stealth has been activated, and hopefully we re-emerge either in an exotic location (such as the Gold Coast or Tasmania) or leading the fleet without being too heavily scarred from our Extra Terrestrial encounters – though we may have new super powers.

LAT 23 32.1N
LONG 074 40.7W
DTF 1039nm
ETA 30 May 2012
SOG 3
COG 345

WEATHER Light and Variable, Sea calm, Swell NE 1/2m, Sky 1/8, Baro 1009

Another day of light and variable winds as Gold Coast Australia sails past Long Island. With numerous sail changes every watch, we are just trying to keep the boat moving and hoping the boats to the west wont gain too much advantage before we get some wind back.

Its almost like we are stuck in a vortex, and with our daily run being so small and so variable it is very hard to determine the best way to sail to get the wind as fast as possible. All we need is one good days run and we will be home free, but at the moment we suffer with the manotonous slap slap slap of the mainsail as we drift over the swell that seeps through the islands from the Atlantic.

LAT 22 29.6N
LONG 074 38.0W
DTF 1049
ETA 28 MAY 12
COG 050
SOG 6

WEATHER WIND 015@8, SEA SLT, SWELL VAR, SKY 8/8 RAIN, BARO 1007

Gold Coast Australia has spent another day trying to make the most of light fluky winds as we race towards the Crooked Passage. At times today the sea was so glassy and flat it resembled a mill pond. The all too familiar thud thud thud of our sails as they flop from side to side in traces of Atlantic Swell that made its way between the islands is almost haunting.

A frustrated GCA crew are doing a fantastic job at keeping focused and the mood onboard is very happy and positive despite the hot windless conditions. The intense heat below brings people on deck between watches for a chat and a laugh, and our recent happy hours have seen some interesting antics as we blast the Stereo so loud that no doubt De Lage Landen would have been listening to some high class Reggae for a few hours every day.

In the last 24 hours we have had no less than thirty sail changes as the wind picks up to a few knots, changes direction and then drops back off again. Changing between wind seeker, Y1, Staysail and light weight spinnaker is a full time job throughout the watch, and the deck regularly resembles a the floor at the end of an Italian dinner party, covered in a spaghetti of sheets, lines and halyards and sails.

Our instruments are not holding up to the light winds and appear to have lost calibration so the helmsmen need to concentrate even harder to maintain our course in these light and fickle winds. Other electronics are also feeling the heat and need to be shut down occasionally, cooled and re-booted before they regain their function.

Our goal at the moment is to get north as quickly as possible and hopefully into fresher more consistent breeze. Only then can we begin to focus on reigning in on Visit Finland who seem faster in light airs and have come out of stealth an amazing 40nm to our north.

Our progress is a lot slower than expected for this part of the race and its anybody’s guess when we will reach the more predictable winds. The constantly changing light airs, and scattered islands and reefs in the area make it very hard to get the boat in the position that will best benefit us with the future predicted winds. GRIB files pay much resemblance to the conditions we are experiencing, and will no doubt be of little use to us until we are free of the Bahama Islands and into the American Basin.

LAT 21 20.7N
LONG 074 37.6W
DTF 1128
ETA 27 May 2012
SOG 5
COG 340

WEATHER WIND 090@5kts, Sea Calm, Swell Low Var, Cloud 4/8 Cl, Baro 1007

As Gold Coast Australia excitedly rounded the western end of the scoring gate we hoisted our light weight spinnaker and bore away to reach towards the Bahama’s.

The wind gradually died off and before sunrise we were left drifting on a flat sea, sails drooping from the mast and lifeless. The spinnaker was exchanged for the wind seeker but Gold Coast Australia only crept along at 1-2kts at best on port tack.

By mid morning apart from the occasional “gust” of 5kts, Gold Coast sat lifeless in the mill pond. To our horror we watched De Lage Landen and Derry Londonderry charge up with spinnakers on starboard tack with about 12kts of wind, and bringing the wind with them. Team GCA prepared the spinnaker again so when the wind hit us we were fully prepared. As De Lage Landen screamed alongside with the new wind they suddenly ground to a halt, their sails backing under their own momentum before settling to rest in the same mill pond as us.

There was not long to wait however for new wind to come from the North East, and before too long we both had our Y1 headsails up on port tack and the race was back on. We have been racing along ever since.

The light winds offer a good chance to get any maintenance tasks done, and today was plumbing day. Nobody likes playing with plumbing, it is messy and smelly, but our grey water tank pump seemed to be straining so I took the pipes apart to investigate the problem. Not thinking that the grey water pipes were linked to the heads, things got rather messy when a crew member went in to used the heads and flushed it. I guess it could have been a lot worse as it was only No 1’s but the thought of what was happening and my near miss still made me gag. The problem was found to be a collapsed pipe and wont be fixed until NY, but at least it has been found and the system is back to normal again.

For the last 12 hours we have been in a close battle with De Lage Landen heading towards the Bahamas’s, and sailing for best speed wherever the wind takes us. It has still not been decided weather to head north through the crooked passage or west through the old Bahamas channel, this will ultimately be decided by the wind.

LAT 20 03.5N
LONG 073 56.0W
DT Scoring Gate 5nm
DTF 1202nm
ETA 27 May 2012
SOG 7kts
COG 030

WEATHER WIND 126@10kts, Sea Slt, Swell NE 1m, Sky 4/8 Cl, Baro 1007

Gold Coast Australia is nearing the scoring gate after a hard and frustrating day of sailing that combined a complete rage of weather and sailing tactics.

The day began as we sailed past Jamaica in reasonable but quite shifty conditions with variable wind. I came on deck to find the other yachts in our vicinity sailing better angles and speeds and set about conducting some trimming lessons in the middle of the night. We managed to bring our boat speed back up to scratch and were sailing brilliantly. I was briefing the crew about how important it would be to keep an eye on the sky and clouds over the next few days sailing through the tropics when one of the crew members pointed out a massive black cloud ahead of us. There was no way around the cloud, our only option was to sail on and hope.

Fifteen minutes later the wind shifted and we received our first few spots of rain. The wind then shifted again, picked up for a few minutes before dropping out completely as the skys opened up with a torrential down pour. What followed was an incredibly variable and shifty night. One minute we would be sailing close hauled in 3kts of wind from the north, then next the we would be blasting along in 24kts of wind from the south. All this time the rain came in buckets.

As the sun rose for a new day the wind began to steady, and we began making some good ground on De Lage Landen and Singapore who had evidently sailed around the squalls and had by now increased their lead.

Gold Coast Australia rounded the southern tip of Haiti we kept a wide berth to avoid a wind shadow from the 2000ft mountain range and hardened up on the wind keeping about 25nm from the shore. Our position was looking fantastic when suddenly the wind dropped out altogether. Fearing we were in the lee of the mountains there was some concern as the yachts to the north of us sailed on. Thankfully these yachts soon parked up as well, and before noon almost the entire fleet was lined up as if on a new start line, drifting in 0kts of wind.

The wind picked up later in the afternoon, and Gold Coast Australia were quick to respond and managed to take full advantage of it amongst three other yachts and worked our way from the rest of the fleet sailing to the Windward Passage.

Early in the evening the wind began to shift again, and the fleet was quick to respond tacking to the north. Gold Coast Australia held on to port tack and sailed deeper into the knocking shift before tacking to the north and making some good gains on the rest of the fleet.

Only miles before the gate our mast head tri-colour nav light blew and Lisa Blair set up to head up the rig to change the bulb. Not an easy task on a dark night as we sail to windward against the swell that swept into the Windward Passage.

Gold Coast will be working hard to be the first boat to the scoring gate to win 3 bonus points before moving in to the next phase of the race where we will be sailing past the Bahamas’s, the Bermuda triangle and then hopefully victory onto New York – Then you can stop your winging Uncle Dave!

LAT 18 08.0N
LONG 075 25.1W
DTW 152nm
DTF 1353nm
ETA 27 May 12
COG 035
SOG 9.6

WEATHER WIND 137@14kts, Sea Mod, Swell confused, Sky 2/8 Cl, Baro 1007

Gold Coast Australia has had a stunning day of sailing through the Caribbean Sea, Past Jamaica and into the Windward Passage. The wind thus far has been nothing but perfect however light winds lie ahead.

Most of the day was spent covering De Lage Landen, and when we observed that they were committed to sailing to the west of Morant Cays we altered course and sailed higher on the wind to climb into more current and sail to the east of Morant Cays, thereby putting the island and a lot of miles between us.

Gold Coast Australia is lifting higher than all the other boats visually and on AIS and we are sailing a fantastic VMG towards the scoring gate between Cuba and Haiti. Unfortunately the wind has lifted more than predicted allowing the other yachts to leeward to get more height and capitalise on their position.

Our next obstical is the lee from the southern most tip of Haiti as there are some high mountain ranges there that will no doubt create a substantial lee. Hopefully our calculations are correct and we can sail around the edge of the lee, making best use of the current to sail into the Windward Passage.

The perfect upwind sailing conditions provide and excellent opportunity for some sail coaching and interested crew are getting daily lessons on sail trim and how to make boats go faster. As the conditions lighten off over the next day it will be a fabulous opportunity for crew to put their lessons into practice as no doubt there will be ample light wind trimming through the islands where every 0.1 kts will count.

LAT 14 57.6N
LONG 077 20.8W
DTW 365
DTF 1666
ETA 0600 27 May 12
COG 020
SOG 8.5

WEATHER WIND 115@22, SEA MOD, SWELL NE 2M, CLOUD 2/8 Cl, BARO 1005

Spray flies through the air and water cascades over the deck as we power through another wave. Gold Coast Australia has been charging towards the Windward Passage since the start of Race 11 trying to balance speed and height so as to make the best course to the islands and scoring gate.

This morning the wind picked up to full trade wind force, an almost perfect 20 knots, with the occasional small gust forcing us to change down from full main and Y1 to one reef and Y2. The headsail change was made at first light, and for many onboard it was the first headsail change while racing. While hanking the new sail onto the forestay I bore away to make life easier for the team on the foredeck, this took us from a mile above Geraldton Western Australia to almost alongside, and a “friendly” exchange of banter was passed between boats as we drew close.

Everybody got involved in the headsail change and looked like drowned but satisfied rats as they returned from the foredeck. While the change understandably took longer than normal, it was done in good time and after a successful hoist of the Y2 we set about putting in a reef before continuing our charge.

Trying to find the perfect balance between speed and height has been our biggest challenge, and while we have maintained our position as the most easterly yacht in the fleet, a couple of yachts De Lage Landen and Derry Londen Derry have snuck underneath us making some very good speed to the north and are now leading the fleet.

The fleet is still very close together as all the crews sail the boats well with the same aim of winning this massive sprint to the Windward Passage.

Our aim at the moment is to try to catch De Lage Landen and Derry Londonderry and try to stay to the east of them allowing us to cover the fleet. We are working very hard to try to sail the boat hard and fast.

This is defiantly a different ride to the previous race. It is fast, exhilarating wet and slightly wild. The different conditions are a challenge for some people to get used to, as the boat is continuously bumping over waves, and we are sailing at a 20-25 degree angle. Some crew members are still suffering bouts of sea sickness though the majority of the crew are in full form and enjoying the ride.

LAT 11 53.0N
LONG 078 38.4W
DTW 562nm
DTF 1763
ETA 0600Z 27 MAY 12
COG 020
SOG 8

WEATHER WIND 109@14kts, Sea Mod, Swell NE 2m, Cloud 3/8 Cl, Baro 1006

Gold Coast Australia is off to a magnificent start in Race 11 of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race from Panama to New York.

After a good start we were making good progress on a beam reach until the wind backed around prematurely resulting in us being on the wrong side of the course to make maximum gain from the wind shift. Gold Coast Australia was quick to pick the shift however, and re trimmed the boat quickly to take maximum advantage over the boats around us. As a result we managed to lee bow Visit Finland before climbing higher than the other yacht and with good speed to find ourselves having a good hustle with the other Australian Boat Geraldton Western Australia. It is a lot of fun racing against the other Aussies and at the moment we just can not seem to over take them.

Gold Coast Australia tried overtaking Geraldton Western Australia first to windward without success, and now we are trying to go for more speed and take them to leeward.

The wind is expected to increase and continue to back over the next few hours and it looks like we will be almost close hauled for most of the race to the windward passage where we hope to gain some tactical advantage over the rest of the fleet.

On the whole it is fantastic to be racing again, and the conditions are near perfect at the moment making for some very enjoyable sailing. The crew is enthusiastic and the closeness of the racing with the other boats around us makes things very exciting. Go Gold Coast!

Richard Hewson

LAT 11 08.0N
LON 78 56.0W
RACE START TIME 2330 UTC
DTW 607NM
DTF 1808
ETA 0600Z 27 MAY 2012
COG 030
SOG 8

WEATHER WIND 160@10 SEA MOD SWELL NE 2m CLOUD 5/8 Cl Ci BARO 1004

The Clipper Fleet RV was set and the yachts re grouped 130nm NE of Panama for the start of race 11 of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race from Panama to New York.

Gold Coast Australia was given position of re grouping the yachts and controlling the start, and the time for the start was set at sunset 2330 UTC.

As the sun neared the horizon, Gold Coast Australia fired the 10 minute gun and the yachts lined up for a Le Mans start, which basically lines all the yachts up on a line of bearing sailing a specific course. After the start yachts must maintain their course for ten minutes before changing course or their sail plan and Gold Coast Australia worked hard to maximise speed with their Yankee 1, Staysail and Mainsail.

The team of Gold Coast Australia had a magnificent start and good speed off the line. The boat appeared to accelerate faster than the other yachts around her and we focused on sail trim to optimise our speed as we worked hard to get ahead of the fleet and into clear wind before nightfall. For the next 600nm Gold Coast will be sailing hard and working at being the first yacht to the Windward passage where tactics will no doubt separate the fleet.

This will be an interesting and very tactical race as we face a full range of wind conditions, currents around the islands, and the infamous Gulf Stream. There are no set rules for this race as there are no other races in the world that sail on this course so the navigators will have a lot of considerations to make with very little historic data.

Gold Coast Australia is looking forward to the rest of the race and after a long stopover in Panama waiting for parts for our engine we are well rested and motivated to sail hard and hopefully maintain the success of previous races.